Craig Shapiro is a bit of a media icon on the tennis scene. He has been around the tour since the 90s, when he travelled as Andre Agassi’s personal racquet tech. Craig runs an excellent podcast where he interviews many professional tennis players. You can subscribe to it on the usual audio platforms. He also runs something he tongue-in-cheek calls an academy, which is more of an intense travel tribute to tennis. The next trip is to the Rome Masters tournament. When we connect, he has just returned to New York from the Sunshine Double, so we talk about his …
Jonas Eriksson
Jonas Eriksson
Jonas has been known as "tennis nerd" mainly for his obsessing about racquets and gear. Plays this beautiful sport almost every day.
Fellow tennis nerd Johan is behind a new type of tennis ball machine system to improve your tennis called Fast Track Tennis. What is Fast Track Tennis? Fast Track Tennis Ball Machine is suitable for beginners to advanced players. Whether it is your first contact with tennis or whether you are an experienced tennis player and want to improve your technique and footwork, lots of fun is guaranteed. The benefit of this ball machine s that you can work on your game without access to a tennis court. You need a racquet and some balls, that is it. It is a way to groove your strokes …
Thanks to a fellow tennis nerd, we received a picture of the ATP Houston String Tensions. Here is what we found. Can you learn a lot from pro player string tension sheets? Hmmm…difficult to say. I guess you can be inspired that many professional tennis players use lower tensions than most club level players. What is the benefit of going down in tension? Better comfortBetter depthLarger sweet spot The main con is reduced control ATP Houston String Tension Sheet If we start from the top, there is no shock that Ben Shelton is using a high tension for his Poly …
There is a new Tecnifibre TF-X1 V2 line of racquets out. It is the update to the power/spin racquet from Tecnifibre. This launch came out of nowhere. I did not see a huge build-up for this release or any pre-sales. There is a new model in the Tecnifibre TF-X1 V2 line, which is a 305-gram 98-square-inch racquet, which is what I asked for when I reviewed the Tecnifibre TF-X1. Specs and tech What is new in the TF-X1 V2? Besides the new 98 sq inch model, there does not seem to be any new tech added in the update. X-Damp …
Cameron is an aspiring professional tennis player and YouTuber. He has also built a Notion template for tennis players. We talk about that and more in my podcast with Cameron Price. Besides being an aspiring pro, Cameron is also a tennis coach. After having heart problems in October 2022, he is back to playing tennis, coaching, and competing in tournaments. While away from the sport, he promised himself that when he could play again, he would document his tennis journey and share everything he learned along the way. You can listen to the podcast in audio format on the most …
Huge congrats to Danielle Collins for winning the Miami Masters in her last year on tour! But what is Danielle Collins’ racquet? Danielle Collins’ racquet used to be a Babolat Pure Aero, but last year she switched to Tecnifibre. She is now using the Tecnifibre Tfight 300 (slightly extended to 27.2 inches from what I have heard) and the following unstrung specs: 310 grams, 32 cm balance and 298 swing weight. If you add strings and overgrip, you get some thing like 334 grams, 32.5 cm balance and 330 swing weight. The retail specs of the excellent Tecnifibre Tfight 300 …
This Wilson Blade 98 V9 16/19 Review took place over a period of months. The big question is: is it better than V8? The problem with that question is that the difference between them is small. The mold is the same and the layup is very similar. The color of it is, of course, ultra-subjective. Personally, I like both, but the color-shifting of the V8 is more pronounced. If you are a fan of the Blade racquet series, you won’t be disappointed with V9. Every generation has its shares of pros and cons and we will get to those later …
Dimitrov is back in the top ten, while Sinner seems unbeatable. Here is our Dimitrov vs Sinner Miami prediction. When Dimitrov beat Alcaraz in straight sets and Alcaraz said that the Bulgarian made him feel like a 13-year-old on the court, we knew something was brewing in the Dimi tennis kitchen. He followed it up with a more hard-fought win over Zverev in three sets and now he takes on the hottest player in men’s tennis right now, Jannik Sinner. Sinner, on the other hand, completely demolished Medvedev in their semi-final. We definitely did NOT see this result coming as …
Thanks to fellow tennis nerd, Bruno, we now know the specs of Yoshihito Nishioka’s racquet. It’s lighter than you think. As far as I understand, Nishioka is using a Yonex VCORE 98 (2023 version). This is the same as Tommy Paul’s racquet, but the specs differ. Tommy’s is a bit heavier as far as I understand and remember. When I reviewed the Yonex VCORE 2023 racquets, the 98 was my favorite, usually reserved for the 95. But I think the 98 slots well in between the 100 and the 95 and is perhaps the most logical choice for most people …
The iconic Babolat Pure Drive celebrates 30 years in a couple of days. This racquet was made popular by players like Carlos Moya. But as you know, Moya is not the only prominent tennis player who has used a Babolat Pure Drive. Just to name a few: Kim Clijsters, Garbine Muguruza, Andy Roddick and Fabio Fognini. Rafa Nadal used the Pure Drive before they made the Aero Pro Drive for him. Babolat is preparing a launch on the 30th of March, where a new Pure Drive will be released. But will it be a new Pure Drive with NF2 technology …